naturopathy

The things naturopaths do that are good are not special, and the things they do that are special are not good. --Harriet Hall, MD

Naturopathy is a system of therapy and treatment which relies exclusively on
natural
remedies, such as sunlight, air, water, supplemented with diet and therapies
such as massage. However,
some naturopaths
have been known to prescribe such unnatural treatments as
colon
hydrotherapy for such diseases as asthma and arthritis.

Naturopathy is based on the belief that the body is self-healing. The
body will repair itself and recover from illness spontaneously if it is in
a healthy environment. Naturopaths have many remedies and recommendations
for creating a healthy environment so the body can spontaneously heal
itself.

Naturopaths claim to be holistic, which
means they believe that the natural body is joined to a supernatural soul
and a non-physical mind and the three must be treated as a unit, whatever that means. Naturopathy is
fond of such terms as "balance" and "harmony" and
"energy." It is often rooted in mysticism and a metaphysical
belief in vitalism (Barrett).

Naturopaths are also prone to make grandiose claims about some herb or
remedy that can enhance the immune system. Yet, only medical doctors are
competent to do the tests necessary to determine if an individual's immune
system is in any way depressed (Green).
Naturopaths assume that many diseases, including cancer, are caused by
faulty immune systems. (The
immune
system, in simple terms, is the body's own set of mechanisms that
attacks anything that isn't "self." Although, in some cases
rather than attack "foreign bodies" such as viruses, fungi, or
bacteria, the immune response goes haywire and the body attacks it own
cells, e.g., in lupus,
multiple
sclerosis, and
rheumatoid arthritis.) Naturopaths also promote the idea that the mind can be
used to enhance the immune system and thereby improve one's health.
However Dr. Saul Green argues that

there are no reports in the scientific literature to support the
contention that any AM [alternative medicine] operates through an
established immunological mechanism. Regardless of the means used to evoke
an antitumor response, all the evidence available from clinical and animal
studies clearly shows that only after the attention of the NIS [normal
immune system] has been attracted by some external manipulation of its
components, is there any recognition by NIS of the existence of the tumor
(Stutman, O. and Cuttito MJ. (1980). In: R.B. Herberman (ed). Natural
Cell Medicated Immunity Against Tumors. N.Y. Academic Press:
431-432.). All the evidence amassed over the past 30 years provides a
clear answer to the question, “Does any AM treatment stimulate the NIS and
cause it to identify and destroy new cancer cells when they appear?” The
answer clearly is NO! (Green
1999: 20)

Furthermore, the evidence that such diseases as cancer occur mainly in
people with compromised immune systems is lacking. This is an assumption
made by many naturopaths but it is not supported by the scientific
evidence. Immunologists have shown that the most common cancers flourish
in hosts with fully functional and competent immune systems (Green
1999: 18).
The notion that vitamins and colloidal minerals, herbs, coffee enemas,
colonic irrigation, Laetrile, meditation, etc., can enhance the immune
system and thereby help restore health is bogus. On the one
hand, it is not necessarily the case that a diseased person even has a
compromised immune system. On the other hand, there is no scientific
evidence that any of these remedies either enhance the immune system or
make it possible for the body to heal itself.

Naturopathy is often, if not always, practiced in combination with
other forms of "alternative" health
practices.Bastyr University, a
leading school of naturopathy since 1978, offers instruction in such
things as acupuncture and
"spirituality." Much of the advice of naturopaths is sound: exercise, quit smoking, eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables,
practice good nutrition. Claims that these and practices such as
colonic irrigation or coffee enemas "detoxify" the body or
enhance the immune system or promote "homeostasis,"
"harmony," "balance," "vitality," and the
like are
exaggerated and not backed up by sound research.

What is naturopathy? by Harriet Hall, M.D. "Naturopathy doesn't make sense. The things naturopaths do that are good are not special, and the things they do that are special are not good."

For a naturopath's reply to Dr. Hall, see the blogger Oryoki Bowl's "The SkepDoc is an Ostrich." "I chose the word Ostrich, because I see your head is buried in the sand and your ass is likely waving in the air. You have recently written for a pseudo-popular magazine that has a mission of targeting anything they don't 'believe' in and call it pseudoscience."

For a takedown of Oryoki Bowl, see Orac's Fun with a naturopathic rant against The SkepDoc "Oryoki appears to have taken Harriet's criticisms of naturopathy very personally, resulting in an off-base attack on Harriet herself that relies on a heapin' helpin' of nonsense, pseudoscience, and logical fallacies, not to mention the misrepresentation of Harriet's own words...."

Open Letter to Dr.
Josephine Briggs by Kimball Atwood of Science-Based Medicine "...it
is disturbing that you will shortly appear at the 25th Anniversary
Convention of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP).
It is disturbing for two reasons: first, it suggests that you know
little about the tenets and methods of the group that you’ll be
addressing; second, your presence will be interpreted as an endorsement
of those methods and of that group—whether or not that is your
intention."

Ontario to let naturopaths prescribe ... despite the reams of
evidence discrediting their approach to patient health. It's a move that
legitimizes a well-meaning but baseless profession, and puts patients at
significant risk.

news

B.C. naturopaths the first in Canada to prescribe medications Now that these naturopaths have been granted the legal right to prescribe unnatural pharmaceuticals, are they really naturopaths? I thought the one thing that distinguished them from real doctors is the fact that they only prescribe natural remedies. Who knew they didn't believe their own propaganda?